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The newer platforms aren’t yet a major growth driver for all of their brand partners. Halara, for example, sells on Bazar to meet internal sustainability goals instead of meaningfully increasing sales. Still, the startups are launching services to make it easier for labels to maximise their sales growth potential from reselling returned wares. Brands should see increased resale revenue as a result, while Revive can move closer to its goal of generating nine figures in revenue in the next five years. In addition to being a marketplace, Bazar lets brands send customer returns directly to its network of warehouse partners where data is pulled about those items’ condition and then listed onto Bazar’s site. It currently has two stores in Stockholm, one in London and Berlin, and three in South Korea operated by local distribution partner Handsome Corp.

With 60 percent of brands behind on sustainability targets, reducing over-production and cutting waste through cost-effective initiatives may place brands in the best position to achieve targets and maintain the bottom line. Inaccurate stock purchasing across sizes is estimated to result in profit loss of up to 20 percent on average. For example, Lululemon Bof casino attributed slower growth in the US in the first quarter of 2024 in part to insufficient inventory and stocks-outs in smaller women’s sizes. Excess stock in the fashion industry was estimated to be worth between $70 billion and $140 billion in sales in 2023. For brands and retailers, the race to merchandise and market around it is on.

• The upheaval had a huge impact on independent brands in particular, and it remains to be seen about what a new, more consolidated market will mean for them.
• An “inflation overhang,” the idea that customers take time to adjust to higher prices, is not the only dynamic at play.
• Instead, they must break down silos, collaborating and connecting decisions on assortment stock level across the value chain and through omnichannel optimisation.
• Bazar, which launched last year, operates a marketplace where brands list items that aren’t in the condition to be restocked and sold at full price.

Ralph Lauren: Selling a Dream at Every Price

Reselling returned apparel is a major opportunity to turn a loss-maker (that could end up in a landfill) into a money-maker. Returns usually come back with minor wear and tear — ranging from a slightly snagged thread to armpit stains or even the lingering scents of the people who may have worn the garments. What’s more, warehouse workers are usually trained to pick, pack and ship out orders, not survey dresses and pants for visible signs of wear and determine how they can be resold. At 26 percent, apparel, footwear and accessories face a higher return rate than any other category, according to the return management platform Loop Returns. That number is only likely to increase — in 2023, 18 percent of all online orders in the US were returned, up from 17 percent in 2022, according to the National Retail Federation. Convince consumers of the defined value proposition through effective brand communication.

Managing inventory is key for brands to achieve profitability and address new regulation

Late last year, The RealReal announced new stores in Houston and Miami, bringing its total number of stores to 15. Rebag, which has a similar business model to Fashionphile and four stores of its own, opened shop-in-shops inside five Bloomgindale’s locations in August. Last week, Rebag also partnered with Walmart to help expand the big box retailer’s offering of pre-owned luxury products via its online marketplace. Even peer-to-peer eBay-competitor Mercari ventured into brick and mortar with a storefront in Los Angeles. Consumers are increasingly purchasing fashion items across a variety of channels, making it difficult for brands to provide multiple options for size and colour across a growing number of touchpoints, especially if not operating a single stock pool.

The company forecasted lower-than-expected operating profit for 2025, citing slower sales growth and increased volatility due to US tariffs. The company appointed three new directors to its board, including Starboard Value CEO Jeffrey Smith, as part of an agreement to resolve a months-long dispute over the company’s performance in the skincare and beauty segment. McCartney, daughter of the Beatles’ Paul McCartney, launched her eponymous label in partnership with the Gucci Group, then a division of what is now Kering, in 2001.

There are worries his administration could hamper progress on diversity and inclusion, women’s, LGBTQ and immigrant rights, and efforts to curb the impacts of climate change. In the lead-up to Nov. 5, fashion largely favoured neutral “get out the vote” style messaging. Our Legacy’s reputation has grown steadily since its origins in 2005 as a line of graphic T-shirts by Stockholm-based founders Hallin, Cristopher Nying and Richardos Klarén.

Matchesfashion shuttered; Farfetch was sold in a fire sale to Coupang; and finally, loss-making Yoox Net-a-Porter was scooped up by Mytheresa. The upheaval had a huge impact on independent brands in particular, and it remains to be seen about what a new, more consolidated market will mean for them. The MacArthur Fund acquired Uoma Beauty’s assets in December 2023, eight months after Chuter departed from the business.

Canada’s export-driven beauty startup scene is responding to the threat of tariffs with a newfound product patriotism. Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day’s most important beauty and wellness news and analysis. Coast is comfortable, affordable and has a range of features that will benefit employee well-being and productivity.

Many brands have treated the climate crisis as a useful marketing tool, while viewing the impact to the bottom line as a distant threat. Among over 9,000 structures damaged or destroyed are the homes of Jen Atkin, founder of hair-care label Ouai, Hope Smith, founder of beauty brand Mutha, celebrity hair stylist Jenny Cho and Marta Freedman, the founder of gifting suite Air Milkshake. Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, who oversees the star’s hair care brand Cécred, as well as musician and wellness brand founder Jhené Aiko, also lost their homes in the fire. In order to reverse its sales decline, the company is reportedly considering selling off poorer-performing, lower-margin brands and cutting other costs. Investors want to see the fat trimmed, and more room created for future growth.

The three-day event was a celebration of exciting new products, sustainable initiatives and fabulous… Boasting truly timeless designs – where comfort and functionality are perfectly balanced. Paris-based spatial and lighting design firm Matière Noire is the first company to join the program. The designer speaks to BoF’s Imran Amed on the past, present and future of the Roman fur and leather goods house that carries her family name. On the fifth day of Milan Fashion Week, designers at Bally, Ferragamo and Dolce & Gabbana explored the elasticity of brand DNA.